SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: SNOWPIERCER

I've been aware of this film since last April when Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out. SNOWPIERCER is a Korean film by director Joon-ho Bong. The only other film by this director I'm familiar with is The Host (the Korean monster movie not the Stephanie Meyer novel). The Host is an excellent film. Snowpiercer features two actors from The Host, Kang-ho Song and Ah-sung Ko, two great actors, along with other fantastic actors like Chris Evans, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, and Jamie Bell. Quite the English cast for a Korean film, right?

This movie doesn't feel like a foreign film at all. It feels like a post apocalyptic thriller from America or England along the lines of Alien3, Road Warrior, Hunger Games, and Book of Eli. The basic premise is that to combat global warming the governments of the world spread a chemical in the upper atmosphere which frozen the Earth. All life has been extinct on Earth save a few thousand surviving on a global monorail with a closed fully functioning ecosystem.

The passengers in the back of the train do all the hard work and live like slaves. The passengers in the middle are the guards, the maintenance workers, and food processors. The passengers in the front of the train live the life of luxury and decadence. Then there is the man in the very front by the train running the engine, the man who built the monorail and responsible for the continued survival of the human race, Mr. Wilford.

Curtis is a man who lives in the back of the train crammed in with a hundred others covered in grease, grim, and filth. Surviving off gelatinous protein bars, and bowing to the others ahead of them in the train. Curtis has had enough of eating garbage and living like a rat. He leads the back passengers in a revolution. Together they try to take the entire train and kill Mr. Wilford.

Most post apocalyptic films have some sort of social commentary to them. I definitely enjoy my surface value entertainment but every once in a while a movie comes along with something more to say. The message is pretty clear on this one. The train represents the system. The front of the train are the one percenters, the middle is the economy, and back is everyone else. This is movie that gets you thinking and poses some very interesting questions. It's one where you could have a conversation about with your friends afterwards that could last longer than the movie.

Underlying messages aside the film functions as a taught thriller. The action and suspense is badass. The action sequences are well thought out and bloody. The biggest thing for me that sells this movie are the characters. Each character stands out from the rest. Each actor brings their flavor and charm to the characters fitting into archetypes but not being defined by them. You like them and they feel real. I'm a huge fan of characters and this film has an amazing ensemble. Chris Evans plays a role similar to his role in the film SUNSHINE, another amazing film in which Chris does an excellent job.

Snowpiercer has plenty of rewatchability and provides enough substance and tension to keep you engaged from start to finish. I gotta say that it doesn't feel like a foreign film at all and that is definitely is a strength to get a wide audience to watch. The film travels into some dark territory though and poses some pretty heavy questions. It functions on two levels, one of an exciting action film, and two of a social commentary. This gem could easily slip under the radar though and is  definitely worth checking out.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this film is based on a French graphic novel which is receiving a first time English translation available on Amazon.com!

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10